A federal judge has ruled that the Unites States government must make the most common morning-after pill available over the counter for all ages, instead of requiring a prescription for girls 16 and under.

The decision, on a fraught and politically controversial subject, comes after a decade-long fight over who should have access to the pill and under what circumstances, and it counteracts an unprecedented move by the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services secretary who in 2011 overruled a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration to make the pill available for all ages without a prescription.

There will inevitably be more to tease out in terms of details and implementation, and certainly pushback from a host of folks, but I think this deserves a 30-second dance party.

SYREETA MCFADDEN is a Brooklyn based writer, photographer and adjunct professor of English. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches and Storyscape Journal. She is the managing editor of the online literary magazine, Union Station, and a co-curator of Poets in Unexpected Places. You can follow her on Twitter @reetamac.

Syreeta McFadden is a contributing opinion writer for The Guardian US and an editor of Union Station Magazine.

Today House and Senate Republicans passed a widely unpopular tax bill, sending it to President Trump’s desk to be signed. Though you might not guess it, this bill will directly impact people’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services.

Republicans are using tax reform as an opportunity to rollback important components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after several unsuccessful attempts to repeal the bill entirely. One major feature of the ACA is its individual health insurance mandate, which penalizes people who are not insured through their employers or through the insurance marketplace. While the penalty may seem unfair, it ensures that as many people as possible enroll in health insurance, making insurance more ...

Today House and Senate Republicans passed a widely unpopular tax bill, sending it to President Trump’s desk to be signed. Though you might not guess it, this bill will directly impact ...

Trump intends to nominate a woman named Penny Young Nance as ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. As such, she’d be responsible for managing the State Department’s programs to fight gender-based violence and promote women and girls’ educational and economic achievement.

Here’s the problem: Penny Young Nance has made her career standing in the way of girls’ and women’s rights.

Nance is the President and CEO of Concerned Women For America (CWA), an organization whose mission statement says it “protects and promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles” in America. The group is as far-right as it gets, and Nance is basically a bargain Phyllis Schlafly — a reactionary zealot ...

Trump intends to nominate a woman named Penny Young Nance as ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. As such, she’d be responsible for managing the State Department’s programs to fight gender-based violence ...

Last week, 45 pardoned Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who made a name for himself by profiling and abusing Latinxs and immigrants.

The pardon comes after Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for violating a federal district judge’s order to stop discriminating against Latinos. Trump justified pardoning Arpaio by lauding “his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.”

Here are 15 reasons Trump is wrong and Arpaio deserves to burn in hell.

Arpaio was convicted for systematically targeting and illegally detaining Latinxs at traffic stops. He and his officers routinely violated Latinx’s civil rights, creating an environment of fear and terror in Maricopa County — but that’s only the beginning.
During his ...

Last week, 45 pardoned Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who made a name for himself by profiling and abusing Latinxs and immigrants.

The pardon comes after Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for ...

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